Michelle Creber in Gateway Theatre's Annie. Photo by David Cooper.

The musical marks a special anniversary for Gateway. “We’re celebrating 26 years at Gateway by producing Annie, the musical we started with,” says executive and artistic director Simon Johnston. “Annie’s irrepressible optimism and hope for the future is an important message for all of us.”

Book by Thomas Meehan (The Producers), music by Charles Strouse (Bye Bye Birdie), and lyrics by Martin Charnin. Directed by Johnna Wright, musical direction by Allen Stiles, choreography by Kennith Overbey, set design by Drew Facey, and costume design by Carmen Alatorre.

Starring Michelle Creber, Timothy E. Brummund, Nora McLellan, Matt Palmer, Barbara Tomasic and Pippa Mackie. Featuring Jessie Chan, Bridget Esler, Murielle Faifman, Maria Go, Kaila Kask, Aviva Knowles, Caroline Mawhinney, Fiona McIntyre, Laura Reynolds, Colette Richardson, Makena Zimmerman, Arne Larsen, Andrea Bailey, Matthew Beairsto, Vanessa Coley-Donohue, Andrew Cownden, Xavier de Salaberry, Jeff Deglow, Cameron Dunster, Brandyn Eddy, Madelyn Kriese, Stephanie Liatopolous, Brittany Scott, and Tamara Vishniakoff.

Gateway Theatre presents Annie from December 9 – 31, 2010, at the Gateway Theatre, 6500 Gilbert Road, Richmond.  Tickets are available online or by phone at 604-270-1812.

At the Arts Club, the Altar Boyz are spritzing their hair with product for the last time and at Pacific Theatre, the good folks from Not Another Musical Co-op are singing the last notes of Songs For A New World this weekend.     Across the water, at the Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver, comes the final curtain call for the newest object of my affection, Fighting Chance’s Rent.

Fighting Chance Production's cast of Rent; Clockwise from top left, Craig Decarlo, Christine Quintana, Jacqueline Breakwell, Anton Lipovetsky, Nick Fontaine and Cesar Erba.

I have a rather shameful admission to make . . .  I’ve never been a giant Rent fan.  Nor a Rent fan of any other size, for that matter.  It stems from a certain stubbornness that I possess when it comes to being told what to do or what to like.  In fact, I have an aversion to jumping on to bandwagons of all kinds.  It’s that contrary quality that made me disregard the film version and pooh-pooh the various Rent soundtracks.

But now, I’ve drunk the Kool-aid and have been totally taken in by Rent.  I’ve seen it three times and would have seen it again, if it hadn’t kept selling out.

Which brings us back to the end of the summer season and the sudden onset of my musical-theatre withdrawal blues.  My current state of despair is somewhat tempered by the knowledge that the fall musical season will soon be upon us.  Though, truth be told, I’m not overly enthused by this.  I’ve seen all of these latest summer shows twice and sometimes more and they’ve become familiar, like friends.  And it’s so hard to say goodbye.

If you haven’t already been to TUTS yet, go see both shows.  It’s a great pairing this season; the ever-popular and solid Annie (read my review) and the thoroughly fabulous Thoroughly Modern Millie (read my review).

Sarah Rodgers has spent the past few years directing musicals, but it’s been a while since she’s acted and sung in one.  This summer Rodgers is returning to her roots as she hams it up playing the villainous Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie at Theatre Under the Stars.  Rodgers gave us a few of her thoughts regarding her role.

Rodgers on musicals:

“I’ve been directing a lot of musicals in this city and having a ball with it and just loving it.  I’ve done the last three seasons at Gateway Theatre. I directed Emily, My Fair Lady and last year, Guys and Dolls.

But before that I have been a professional actor for over 15 years and I did perform in musicals years ago. But it’s been a while and I am just thrilled to be back on the stage, singing, (laughs) kicking up my heels.”

Danny Kim, Sarah Rodgers and Aaron Lau in TUTS' production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Photo by Tim Matheson.

Rodgers on preparing for the role:

“I have to learn a Chinese accent, and in all honesty, I have to learn a very over-the-top, stereotypical, and for lack of a better word, a bad Chinese accent.  Because I play a character who thinks she’s a wonderful actor.  There’s a lovely footnote in the script that says ‘it is not important that Mrs Meers’ Chinese accent be good, but it is important that she thinks it is good (laughs).’

I worked with a student of mine [at UBC] who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Canada.  He sat down with me and I taped him and he helped me greatly with the accent.  I also had to do a lot of work.   . . . a lot of coaching and work on singing, just because I haven’t sung, myself, in many years.  So of course, I’ve been working privately on that.  Just prepping and preparing vocally.”

Rodgers on the 1967 film version of Thoroughly Modern Millie:

“I am a huge fan and I was probably not born when the movie came out.   But, they were showing it in reruns. My mother and I would watch it on the television every year.  I’m a huge fan of Mary Tyler Moore and Julie Andrews. So, I know the film inside out, love it, love it, love it!  [In the play] the character Mrs Meers is very different, which is fun for me.  I’m reinventing it and making it completely new because she doesn’t play her as an Asian woman in the film at all.  They’ve totally changed it, they’ve made it even campier and it is a crazy, crazy depiction.

But of course it’s supposed to be a real send-up on the woman and I end up going to jail, I think, for my bad accent (laughs).  Mrs. Meers ends up going to jail and the Asian sidekick gets the beautiful girl, so it all works out well in the end.”

Rodgers on playing the villain:

“I’m loving it and I would say that it’s a new venture for me as an actor.  I’m not used to playing the villains, or the old broad.  I wake up one morning and suddenly I’m playing the old broad in the show.  When did that happen?  I’ve been playing ingénues all my life (laughs), I’m used to playing the Mary Tyler Moore role. It’s a great comic role, wonderful, wonderful comic role. It’s a great character part and it’s fun being the bad guy. Who knew?”

Rodgers on Beatrice Lillie:

“From the film itself, I am a huge fan of Beatrice Lillie and a lot of people of this generation don’t know [her]. But Bea Lillie was a famous vaudevillian actress and she was also, a lot of people called her the first female comedian.  I am so honoured to be playing a Beatrice Lillie role. I’m beside myself.

There’s one thing that she does in the film which is absolutely ridiculous.  She barks at the boys. She barks at them and she says ‘shu sho, shu sho.’ Of course the first thing I wanted to know was what does ‘shu sho’ mean, because that’s the one bit of Chinese that she uses in the film. She says it quite a lot and in a way that you think she’s saying hurry up, hurry up, get going, ‘shu sho.’ And it means absolutely nothing, I found out.  , Well I put it into the show.  I do it twice in the show and that’s a treat really for the diehards.”

Tickets are still available through Tickets Tonight. Thoroughly Modern Millie plays every other night at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park at 8 pm until August 22^nd.

Going back to reality however, begs the question whether simpler times ever actually existed, or if they’re merely childhood memories artfully framed by nostalgic wishing.  The good old days surely don’t apply to the years in the 30s during the Great Depression.

It’s in that unlikely setting that TUTS first feel-good musical of the season takes place.  The family classic Annie opens with a group of orphans gathered around the radio, listening to the opening overtures of Charles Strouse’s score.

With lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan, Annie has been a family favourite for the last 32 years and unfortunately its age is showing.  The story is peppered with cultural references from the 30s as remembered from the 70s.  Mentions of Jack Dempsey or Don Budge don’t exactly hit home with a contemporary crowd.  It also doesn’t help that the show’s most memorable songs are all in the first act.

Luckily, the TUTS cast has talent enough to gloss over the show’s weaknesses.  Nine-year-old Michelle Creber plays the titular orphan as well any seasoned veteran.  Actual seasoned veteran David Adams, who plays Oliver Warbucks, has some great chemistry with Creber.  His Warbucks is somewhat human compared to how others have played the role and his affection for his young ward is therefore more believable.

David Adams, Michelle Creber, and Dana Luccock in TUTS' production of Annie. Photo by Tim Matheson

The orphan chorus, as played by Sophie Leroux, Loritta Lin, Eve O’Dea, Christina Peluso, Roan Shankaruk, Nicol Spinola, Olivia Steele-Falconer, Sophie Visscher-Lubinizki and Allison Wall, is charming and brimming with talent.  Their spunky version of “Hard Knock Life” gets the show off and running on a high note.

I never envy the job of the actor who is cast as Miss Hannigan.  Carol Burnett’s cinematic turn as the boozy orphanage director is a hard act for anyone to follow.  Theoretically, Miss Hannigan has some of the best one-liners in the show, and Colleen Winton plays them up for all they’re worth.  But they didn’t get much response from the audience; which says more about the audience and the show itself than it does about Winton’s performance.  Many of the lines just aren’t as funny when you know they’re coming.

Todd Talbot and Carolyn Bergstrand as Rooster Hannigan and Lily St-Regis liven up the show with their brand of comedic villainy.  Winton, Talbot and Bergstrand are smooth as butter with “Easy Street.”

Not everything in Annie hits the mark.  Dana Luccock’s portrayal of Warbucks’ secretary Grace Farrell is flat and somewhat one-noted.  There were also a few problems with the sound, but nothing that can’t be ironed out.

Kudos to Francesca Albertazzi for her set design.  It is both pretty and practical and works well within the limitations of the Malkin Bowl.  Former Playhouse Artistic Director Glynis Leyshon makes her TUTS directing debut and has crafted a solid show.

Though the musical itself may be getting a bit tired, it’s a great choice for the family-friendly TUTS.  Tickets are still available through Tickets Tonight. Annie plays every other night at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park at 8 pm until August 21^st.

As well, I interviewed the star of Piaf: Love Conquers All which plays next week  at the Firehall Arts Centre.   I’ll have more details on all of these shows in the respective reviews and postings as they’re put up.

TUTS has made some shrewd choices this year with a duo of family-friendly shows; classic crowd-pleaser Annie and the relatively new but very popular Thoroughly Modern Millie.  I’ll be posting further about both shows in the days leading up to the opening nights.

TUTS has been a summer Vancouver tradition at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park since the 1940s with only a few interruptions.  Most recently TUTS took a hiatus in 2006 after running into financial difficulties.  It was widely speculated that the two lesser-known shows staged in 2005, Big: the musical and Can-Can, failed to draw in ticket-buying audiences.

For the last two years, TUTS has safely steered towards popular and time-tested fare; Grease and Oklahoma in 2007, and Jesus Christ Superstar and Annie Get Your Gun in 2008.

Michelle Creber and Max in the TUTS production Annie. Photo by Tim Matheson.

Michelle Creber plays the redheaded optimistic orphan Annie alongside a slew of Vancouver stage veterans. David Adams stars as Oliver Warbucks, Colleen Winton (2008 Ovation award winner for Musical of Musicals the Musical, Fighting Chances), as Miss Hannigan, and Todd Talbot (It’s A Wonderful Life, Arts Club) as Rooster Hannigan.  Former Vancouver Playhouse artistic director Glynis Leyshon directs.

Thoroughly Modern Millie stars Broadway actress Diana Kaarina (Rent, Les Misérables) as the titular character who, in the modern tradition, moves to the big city with plans to marry not for love but for money.  The role should be somewhat old hat for Kaarina, as she previously played the role in the touring company of Millie.  Directed by Shel Piercy, the cast also includes Meghan Anderssen (Annie Get Your Gun, TUTS), Danny Balkwill (We Will Rock You, Mirvish), and Sarah Rodgers.

Previews July 10-13.  Shows play alternating nights with Annie opening July 14th through August 21st and Thoroughly Modern Millie opening July 15th through August 22nd.  Tickets available online or by calling 604-684-2787.